You first need to find and install a chat client or program. There are dozens of choices available for any different computer platform. For this chapter we'll concentrate on a program called mIRC, a 32-bit shareware offering for Windows 95. We chose this particular program because of good reviews from chat users. It's also easy to learn, use, and has many popular features. You can download a copy of mIRC from many of the FTP sites set up on the Web. Two of our favourites are:
Different sites may have different file names for the program, so do a search
on mIRC. Click the download button and the program will automatically be copied
to your computer.
Once you download the program you'll have to install it. The installation
process consists of running the program's setup utility. (Commonly called
setup.exe) After that, you'll have to fill in some personal information as
well as some details about your Internet connection. mIRC has a terrific FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions) file that will answer any questions you might
have about this information.